lead.encourage.inspire

Month: October 2015

I can’t help myself! I know you’ve probably seen this video, but I had to share it just in case! It makes my eyes leak every single time. I hope it brightens your day, makes you smile, or inspires you to do something amazing! If you are new to my blog, I encourage you to “catch up” by reading my previous posts.

It has been such a joy to hear from you. I am blown away by your feedback. Those of you who have shared, commented or liked what I have posted- I want to say thank you!

Readers- I am dying to learn more about you! What is your story? Are you ready to start a personal journey of generosity? Have you been generous your entire life? In terms of kindness, how would you rate yourself on a scale of 0-10? With 10 being Mother Theresa… Are you demonstrating as many acts of love as possible in a given day? Do you struggle with being a cheerful giver? Is something standing in your way? Is something preventing you from living a life of irrational generosity? Please, please, please share your story with me.

I want to hear from YOU! If you would rather not comment “publicly” here, you have options… If we are Facebook friends, private message me. If you have my phone number, text me. If you would like to send me an e-mail, my address is jennmilroy72@yahoo.com.

I love this video. This kind of stuff just makes me giddy! The video was sent to me by a dear friend. He shares my vision for creating a ripple effect of love, kindness and compassion. It’s no wonder we call him “Super Dave”.

My favorite part is when the main character reaps the reward from his ongoing commitment to sowing seeds of kindness and compassion. He doesn’t show love to his neighbors to reap a reward. He demonstrates acts of love in his everyday life because it is the right thing to do. However, in the end-HE wins! He not only reaps the reward, he reaps the reward TENFOLD.

The main character is the perfect embodiment of “the cheerful giver”. Straight out of 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”.

Are you inspired to be a cheerful giver? Which seeds will you sow? Will you sow them sparingly or bountifully?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to every single person who took the time to peek at my blog. Thank you for every comment, compliment, share, text message, phone call and “like”. I am so grateful for your support and thrilled by the opportunity to encourage and inspire you! I am even more excited to see what we can accomplish together through everyday acts of love.

What are acts of love? Absolutely anything that is kind, encouraging or helpful. The possibilities are limitless. Saying please and thank you (duh! right?), holding the door for someone, smiling, saying hello, writing a thank you note, sending an encouraging text message, being a good listener, praying for someone, praying WITH someone, leaving a great tip, delivering a meal, buying groceries for someone in need, volunteering somewhere, being a great friend… You get the picture.

I have a vision for your journey of generosity. What will begin with simple acts of love throughout your day, will evolve into something greater than you can even imagine. In the beginning, you will demonstrate acts of love where your daily routine would naturally take you. Before long, you will go “out of your way” to help someone in need. Then, you will drive across town because you heard someone could use a helping hand. Next, you will purposefully SEEK opportunities to bless others in the most profound ways. Whether you are crossing the street or crossing the ocean, I can already see that the world will be changed for the better because of you.

Wow! I have only told a handful of people that I have written my first blog post. I feel like I do when I have THAT dream. You know the one where you go to school naked? Yep, terrified and vulnerable. I am praying for 1) the strength to let people know that I am writing AND 2) asking them to check it out. My words. My heart. My soul. For the whole world (or maybe 100 or so people who click click click and read what I have to say) to read. If one or two people get something out of what I have to say, I will consider it a success. Please remind me that I said this when I am curled up in a ball wondering why I can’t single-handedly change the world with my words.

Let me just say that sharing in this way is SO VERY FAR out of my comfort zone. Yesterday, I began to question this leap of faith. I started to believe that I have nothing to offer. I went to that place where I was only focused on what people might think and how many people would hate what I have to say. Then a beautiful thing started to happen. It began with a kind word from a stranger. Then, a wondrous cascade of events that was most certainly a divine intervention started to unfold. In an instant, the fog of doubt started to lift and my purpose was restored.

Our pastor says “if you think something nice, say it”. It sounds simple enough. How many times has your day started out a little gloomy to be turned around by a kind word? Or a compliment? So thank you to the stranger who was placed in my path yesterday. Your kind words were the act of love needed to change the course of my day. That, and getting my hair done. Am I right?

I love words. I mean I reeeeally love words. So, when our pastor encouraged us to choose a “word for the year” I jumped at the chance. How exciting! My very own word. My word for 2015 is generosity. It is one of my favorite words in the English language. I wondered if I should choose a word that was a little more of a struggle for me, like PATIENCE (eye roll, sigh). Nope. Generosity is my word. So began my journey of generosity.

Growing up in a home with extremely generous parents sowed the seed of my “life-long quest to help others”. I literally can not remember a time in my life when I wasn’t 100% sure that I was going to change the world. Fast forward to me as a 40 something year old mom. Based on my original vision of what it means to change the world, I have failed miserably (there are still hungry children in the world). However, based on what I’ve learned along the way, I (and you) have the opportunity to change the world every day. All.Day.Long.

If you’ve known me for 5 minutes, you know that I keep an ongoing “list of things to do”. An infinite list of things to do… However, I never want my THINGS to do to overshadow my PEOPLE to love. So, at the top of my calendar I write (yes, I use a paper calendar) “Who will I bless today”? In the beginning, I would seek out one person in need each day. After a while, it became somewhat of an obsession to bless as many people as possible. I promise you, if you focus on blessing not one person, but as many people as you can every single day, your life will be transformed in ways you can’t even imagine. Seriously, you can’t even imagine.

All of the actions taken to help, care for and bless others, I call “acts of love”. I resolve to commit as many “acts of love” as possible everyday. I hope you will join me! I can’t wait to hear about your journey of generosity!